Gregory Bateson's contribution to 20th century thinking has appealed to scholars from a wide range of fields dealing in one way or another with aspects of communication and epistemology. A number of his insights were taken up and developed further in anthropology, psychology, evolutionary biology and communication theory. But the large, trans-disciplinary synthesis that, in his own mind, was his major contribution to science received little attention from the mainstream scientific communities. This book represents a major attempt to revise this deficiency. Scholars from ecology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology and philosophy discuss how Bateson's thinking might lead to a fruitful reframing of central problems in modern science. Most important perhaps, Bateson's bioanthropology is shown to play a key role in developing the set of ideas explored in the new field of biosemiotics. The idea that organismic life is indeed basically semiotic or communicative lies at the heart of the biosemiotic approach to the study of life. The only book of its kind, this volume provides a key resource for the quickly-growing substratum of scholars in the biosciences, philosophy and medicine who are seeking an elegant new approach to exploring highly complex systems.

Gregory Bateson s contribution to 20th century thinking has appealed to scholars from a wide range of fields dealing in one way or another with aspects of communication and epistemology. A number of his insights were taken up and developed further in anthropology, psychology, evolutionary biology and communication theory. But the large, trans-disciplinary synthesis that, in his own mind, was his major contribution to science received little attention from the mainstream scientific communities.

This book represents a major attempt to revise this deficiency. Scholars from ecology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology and philosophy discuss how Bateson's thinking might lead to a fruitful reframing of central problems in modern science. Most important perhaps, Bateson's bioanthropology is shown to play a key role in developing the set of ideas explored in the new field of biosemiotics. The idea that organismic life is indeed basically semiotic or communicative lies at the heart of the biosemiotic approach to the study of life.

The only book of its kind, this volume provides a key resource for the quickly-growing substratum of scholars in the biosciences, philosophy and medicine who are seeking an elegant new approach to exploring highly complex systems."

From reviews for the bestselling Danishedition:

..". dashing and idiomatic language that is apleasure to read." -- Berlingske Tidende

..". anappetizer and eye opener... Hoffmeyer is a modernistic pioneer in the wide openspaces of the natural sciences... " -- Politiken

..".extremely well written and interesting manifesto for a bioanthropology... " --Inf.

"It should be read by anyone who likes to be wiser andat the same time to be challenged in his habitual conception of the relationsbetween culture and nature." -- Weekend Avisen

On this tourof the universe of signs, Jesper Hoffmeyer travels back to the Big Bang, visits thetiniest places deep within cells, and ends his journey with us -- complex organismscapable of speech and reason. What propels this journey is Hoffmeyer's attempt todiscover how nature could come to mean something to someone -- by telling the storyof how cells, tissue, organs, plants, animals, even entire ecosystems communicate bysigns and signals.